Secrets of Parliament Part 4 - River Tam

Players:

River Tam Simon Tam Rhett Vaugner Milowe Perkins

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River Tam swirled her small spoon around in a cup of herbal tea. She enjoyed the drink Shepherd Book had introduced to her, especially when it was minted with the artificial strawberry flavoring Kaylee kept stored in a galley locker.

It were only she and her brother in the galley quarters at this time. Kaylee was in the engine room tinkering with things down there, Wash and Jayne were out getting supplies. Mal and Zoe were off somewhere around the fringes of the Sky-Plex market……trying to hustle up a job, legal or otherwise. Inara was in her shuttle speaking with potential clients and Book was in his room reading.

She came and sat at the galley table across from her brother.

“ A copper for your thoughts.” She spoke softly to the older Tam as she, with both hands, brought the cup up to her lips to take a sip of the sweet tasting tea.

“Not now River. I’m trying to think.” Simon’s words were plain and to the point although there was no hint of irritation behind them. True, her brother had a lot on his mind. Book had told him that it may be a better if they remained within the ship for a while. Not attracting attention to themselves before Serenity cast off to her next adventure. It was a good idea. The doctor had just learned the day before that their world, the world of wanted felons, had become a bit smaller. With wanted posters of he and his sister appearing on the walls of the postal establishments here on Sky-Plex and more around on the border worlds, it may be a good thing to stay hidden a while.

He was also contemplating growing facial hair such as Jayne, but after picturing an image in his brain of what he may look like he chose not to.

River knew what her brother was thinking, well, not every single solitary thought, but the basic worry of what was going on in his mind.

River’s abilities were a bit hard to understand, even for herself. Reading thoughts really wasn’t what you could say she could do with the talents she had gained. Well maybe a small fraction of it was. It was more of an enhanced version of reading people. The tip of an eyebrow, the expression of a face, the gesture of a pose. River could read things like these as if they were a “Blue Sun” advertisement pointing the way to Londinium. Even when people were able to hide the truth from others, River could see right through them. She had other abilities as well, some brought her nightmares.

She chose at that time to give her brother his space.

Simon again though of what had transpired the afternoon before in the showman’s quarters. Before leaving, Clive Barker had given him a phrase. Words he could use to calm his sister down if need be. He ran them over and over in his mind. He wanted to make sure he could speak them correctly.

River could see in her brother’s face that his mind was a thousand miles away. It hurt to know that he was feeling such pressure, and all because of her. Still what else could be done? River felt the evil climbing up again, back into her soul. Those people had hurt her. Had made her see things that flaked away a persons sanity. A vision of hell. River knew of death, she knew that sometime it brought peace to the soul. This was not death. It was a living hell-furnace of cruelty, insanity and hatred. A prison in which talented or gifted individuals were brought and studied and tested like lab rats. Once an individuals potential was tapped into it was only a matter of prying it up to the surface to find out what made it work.

One condition the managing scientists had encountered while learning this process was, that it came at a cost. Secrets and information could not be learned from the subject being tested without a reverse flow of information back in the opposite direction. Therefore the controlling powers could not tap into this human form of energy without losing some secrets of their own.

The individual identities of the Powers that be remained hidden, but the agendas by which they operated had been compromised. For one thing, the existence of the research facility in which River had been a prisoner herself was as unknown as is the existence of a divinity itself, at least by your average law abiding citizen. But she knew of it‘s location, as well as others. Still, it was hidden behind the walls of a school that folk on the outside had nothing but praise and admiration for.

And, there were people still suffering there. Although River was special and like a super nova in the vastness of space, she was not alone. She had excelled at a surprising rate and had shown a skill that had amazed the very managers that were in charge of her control training and mind alteration. She had felt the pain of leaving others behind, but she also was aware that some of the subjects that had been graduated from that particular establishment ( which there were many throughout the entire verse system) were some of the same individuals on the hunt for her at the present time.

Also, she was sure that her escape had brought a new level to the measures of security at each and every one of these facilities. River couldn’t imagine the torture and suffering the talented were now subjected to.

Why? Why would it be such that folk would be kept captive while their talents and God given abilities were subjected and put to tests. Weren’t we a civilized race of people?

Exploitation was the answer. There were abilities and skills that remained un-replicated still, even with all the testing science could apply.

Future weapons, telepathy and many other attributes could be kept corralled, under the right controls. A good example of this had been in the form of Morris Duncan.

Morris Duncan was an individual that had shown, from an early age, an ability to locate expressed minerals that could be mined out of the ground. The man had been brought to the “Walter School for the Gifted” at the age of fifteen, and from there been subjected to tests and poked and prodded with needles that made him resemble a porcupine. Scientists were never able to explain his ability to located rare and valuable metals from a distance, they only knew he could do it. It had something to do with magnetism and the level of trace metals contained within his own body.

So to say Morris was able to detect a rare and highly valued mineral on a lonely moon in the “Blue Sun” system. The moon was never given an official name but was known to be identified as “Atrophy”, to keep the likes of space settlers and rim riffraff away. The place was actually considered a trophy for the minerals it provided the core worlds and the wealth it gained for people in high places. With an atmosphere one tenth needed to sustain life for long periods of time, the mining of “Atrophy” was accomplished with robot digging machines, manned with agents of the government. Since the minerals were somewhat toxic, the miners wore blue gloves to ensure the smallest amount of contact would be made with the substance. Still, many had died from exposure to the metal years later, after the operation had been completed.

The blue gloves were adopted by a secret order of the force that was sent to mine “Atrophy”. A secret order that continued it’s loyalty to Parliament to that very day…….. “Blue Hands”.

There was other reasons for Parliament to keep it’s unaltered interest in “ special subjects” as well. Another was predictability of the future, psychics. These folk had proven that they had hints of what could be expected from upcoming events. Not exactly word for word descriptions of what could happen, but a guideline on situations and occurrences to look for that could alter history and change the leadership of the core planets.

The “Herod ” implementation was being used by the power that be to squelch this particular effect so that there would be no exchanging of power, and to ensure, the ones in control, remain in control.

There were also experiments in mass control. Substances that could be used to make people work harder, yet remain calm and passive. Studies had been going on for years.

River knew all of this. She had been a victim of it herself. She also knew that her brother had met with a man the day before and this was what was bothering him. This man was also a man of secrets, yet she felt that he was trustworthy.

Simon delayed his worries just long enough to acknowledge his sister and the strong pleasant aroma of the drink she’d made herself.

“ What are you drinking there sis?”

“ Tang-Han tea.”

“Smells good.”

“It is. Made from the leaves and Barker of the “mi” bush back on Persephone. The preacher raises it in his garden.”

“ Barker? You mean bark don’t you?” Simon knew that River rarely made mistakes in her communication skills. Exampled by how she was able to adapt Badger’s home dialect so easily.

Simon’s sister just looked at him and smiled.

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The day before:

Rhett Vaugner and Milowe Perkins sat across from “ Omar’s Show Odyssey’s” just as they’d done for the past six months. It was always the same. Clive Barker, out front of the business, shouting his defile of the government, saying that aliens were alive and well and running Parliament. What was it with these nutcases?

But today had been different. Today Clive hadn’t been in front of “ OSO”. Fact was it was someone different trying to lure folk into the foolish business. Where had Clive gone?

Rhett and Milowe weren’t sure, but they meant to find out. The shop had been approached by two men earlier. One a preacher, the other a business man. Trish had gone out to meet them then they’d disappeared into the crowd.

“ Milowe! I’ll keep an eye on the business. You follow Trish and find out where she’s taking those two!”

Millow Perkins understood his assignment.

Rhett Vaugner & Milowe Perkins were employees of the “Palmer agency” . A contract company hired by government to investigate and monitor strange individuals and activity here on the Sky-Plex off the world of Ezra. So far the day to day drudgery of watching folk work, eat and go to the bathroom hadn’t proven very exciting. But they had a job to do and Rhett meant to do it until his advancement came in the form of higher pay six months from now.

There wasn’t much to report. Truth was the job was boring as hell. Today was different though. Today Clive wasn’t at his post. Rhett meant to find out why. Of course it wouldn’t be easy, Rhett and Milowe were given the duty of investigating one hundred suspicious characters on the space station. Hard to do for only two people. Anyway, Mr. Barker wasn’t at his regular post, and Mr. Vaugner meant to find out why.

“ Report back to me whenever you find out what Trish is up to.”

“ Yes Sir!” Milowe saluted sarcastically.

Perkins left and headed out to the street. The reasons why he was doing this stupid-ass job a constant thought in his brain.

“ Maybe I should quit. Try something more adventurous like my cousin, Jayne.” He thought.

Jayne Cobb was always telling him about his adventures. Like the time they picked up the whore and she turned out to be a spy. Yeah, that was the type of life he wanted to have.” Milowe stopped thinking these thoughts and tried to find Trish in the crowd.

End Part 4